บท 26: Chapter 26: Bait
These words reached Blaise's ears, and his face instantly turned red, as if someone had pulled down his underwear in front of a crowd—a humiliation that was hard to bear.
He shot a furious look at the person who had spoken, ready to hurl insults, but the anger in his chest quickly cooled, like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over him.
The reason? Simple. Everyone knew the person who had spoken.
Malfoy, noticing the bitter expression on Blaise's face, curled his lips into a mocking smile.
At the same time, Malfoy let out a sigh of relief. Since stepping onto the Hogwarts Express, every move he'd made had backfired spectacularly.
He had tried to befriend Harry, but instead of making a friend, he had made an enemy. He had attempted to reason with Luke, but Luke had easily outmaneuvered him, leaving Malfoy flustered and retreating awkwardly. Even during the Sorting Ceremony, where he had hoped to be the center of attention, both Luke and Harry had completely stolen the spotlight.
Finally, today, when he threw out a taunt, he'd at least hit the mark—a person who wouldn't dare talk back.
With that thought, Malfoy suddenly found Blaise a bit more tolerable.
Professor McGonagall, who had been keeping an eye on Luke, frowned slightly.
"Severus, it seems there's trouble at your table again. Can't you keep them in line for a moment?" she remarked.
Snape, however, was fixated on Harry at the Gryffindor table, drawn to the boy's striking eyes.
It wasn't until McGonagall's frown deepened that Snape finally responded.
"If that little Gaunt boy doesn't handle it properly, I will," he said, turning to give McGonagall a meaningful glance before continuing.
"From now on, I'll try to loosen the reins a bit and let the students handle minor matters on their own."
He emphasized the words "minor matters."
McGonagall pondered his words for a moment, then glanced over at Dumbledore, who was cheerfully and messily enjoying the feast.
Noticing her gaze, Dumbledore smiled warmly at her. "Minerva, your suggestion was spot on. We really should add more Asian dishes to the menu," he said, pointing to the food on his plate.
"These are called dumplings, correct? Absolutely delightful! Do you think we should send a few house-elves to the East to properly learn their cuisine?"
Before McGonagall could respond, Hagrid, who was gnawing on a whole roasted chicken, gave a greasy thumbs up. "I think that's a great idea, Professor!" he exclaimed.
McGonagall shook her head, exasperated, and shifted her attention back to Luke. At the same time, she noticed Professor Quirrell, wrapped in his turban, also watching Luke.
This made her frown again, but unable to think of any malicious intent Quirrell might have toward Luke, she chose to focus on how Luke would handle the situation at hand.
"You—you're insulting the Zabini family!"
Blaise finally blurted out after holding back for some time.
"Oh? Insulting? What did I do?"
Malfoy feigned surprise, his expression exaggerated and insincere, while the smirk on his lips deepened.
"I merely stated a fact. Does that count as an insult to your family? In that case, your entire family's existence in this world is a disgrace," he sneered.
Luke watched Malfoy's performance from the side with great interest.
To be honest, Luke knew that Malfoy wasn't standing up for Humphrey this time. He simply felt that Blaise calling himself a noble had tarnished the title.
Although there were some deviations in many aspects, Luke still appreciated that Malfoy had the heart to defend the honor of nobility.
Blaise's face was flushed, his lips tightly pressed together, and his fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly. It was obvious that he wanted to explode, but for various reasons, he couldn't.
Humphrey, noticing Blaise's awkwardness, couldn't help but smile.
He remembered how his mother had warned him before boarding the train not to get too close to the pureblood students, as they would likely look down on him.
But now, it didn't seem that way at all. The heir of the Gaunt family was willing to talk to him, and someone from the Malfoy family had even stood up for him.
It seemed like there were more good people in the world than bad.
"Thank y—"
Just as he began to speak, Luke, who had been watching him closely, immediately interrupted.
He placed his right hand on the table and spoke seriously, "There's no need to feel ashamed of your lineage and blood, Blaise."
The moment Luke began to speak, everyone's attention returned to him.
Across the table, Malfoy's expression darkened. He wanted to retort sharply at Luke, as it felt like Luke's words were a slap to his face.
But then he noticed a small part of Luke's wand peeking out from his sleeve, barely visible unless you were looking closely. The wand's tip was pointed in his direction. Malfoy, having suffered once already at Luke's hand, was particularly wary of his wand. So, he wisely chose to hold back his temper.
He closed his eyes, exhaled softly, and relaxed his previously straight posture, adopting an "okay, let's see what you've got" attitude.
Seeing that Malfoy wasn't responding, the students who had reacted strongly to Luke's words also chose to remain silent for now. Keeping quiet and knowing when to bide their time were lessons every Slytherin needed to learn.
Compared to the half-blood Humphrey, Blaise, with his foul mouth and impulsive nature, was a much bigger mystery to them.
Was the Sorting Hat malfunctioning? How could someone so brash not be sorted into Gryffindor?
Luke, noticing that everyone was waiting for him to continue, smiled and said, "You've already seen it for yourself. The bloodline you're so proud of means very little in the eyes of Draco or myself."
Blaise, who had thought Luke might defend him, turned red again. But before he could burst out in anger, Luke continued.
"So, I don't care about your bloodline. No matter how noble it is, unless you're a direct descendant of Merlin, it doesn't mean much to me."
"What truly makes me look down on you is not your lineage, but your behavior."
"You think that today you mocked just anyone? No, you mocked your classmate, your peer, someone who might help you in the future, someone who could pull you out of danger when you need it."
Luke's words made several Slytherin students frown.
When they watched Malfoy mocking Blaise, they found it amusing. But Luke's words weren't so fun anymore.
That was because many of them had done exactly what Blaise had.
They kept quiet, waiting to see what Luke would say next.
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